Thursday, May 10, 2012

Oahu Kiteboarding recap w/ pics

near Mokes

As I promised, I have some pics from Oahu to show you. I am currently working on a little video to show the trip, but will recap some highlights for you with some pics.

North Shore Pipeline

First, I might mention that this wasn't a kiteboarding trip, but instead I was in Oahu mid-February for my little sister's wedding. That being said, my family was very accommodating and I got to kite 3 separate times in my 8 day trip...so not a bad deal at all.

The first time I kited was in unusually rare conditions with the wind coming from the SW. This means I got to walk out my condo and kite right in front of Waikiki Beach. Totally rad. The only bad thing is that my Contour Roam quit working, so I lost the helmet cam footage. Add to that bummer, I also had my 10m RPM ripping right down the middle of the canopy along the ripstop tape. I did get it professionally repaired when I returned, and thank goodness this was the only 10m day.

Waikiki

Pumping up on Waikiki Beach

Epic and rare conditions to ride in front of the city.

Yep, big ass hole in my kite :(

Nice sized group of us got the goodz!

Here is a quick video of the conditions and riding in front of Waikiki. It is from my dad and wife's point and shot cameras, so the video isn't the best and I have done no editing. Regardless...

After ripping my kite and coming in, I ended up meeting a kiter from Bellingham who was in Oahu visiting family. His name is Eric Schlemer. We exchanged numbers and planned to meet up and kite Kailua the following day.

When I gave him a call, he said he was instead going to take a boat to the Heeia Sandbar, and that if I wanted to, I could meet him and the launch and tag along. Becky came with me, even though she is pregnant and couldn't kite.

That being said, the wind was pretty light, but the flat water was epic. I had a bit of trouble staying upwind, but nothing I haven't dealt with on a light day at Jetty Island. There is a Naval base close by, so there is even a pic of my kite with a plane flying overhead.

After kiting, we met my folks for some lunch and Monkey Mike's, which is a roach coach along the side of the highway. It was awesome. After that shopped a bit, until it was time to meet my folks at Halieva Joe's. pic below

Here are some other pics of Hawaii. None of the related to kiting....but they show you some of the beauty that is everywhere in the Hawaiian Islands.

Stay tuned... I should have a recap video (edited by me, so don't expect much) posted shortly.

Also, I am totally stoked, Spring has finally arrived in Seattle, and the kiting has been epic for the last 4 days in a row and doesn't show signs of stopping for at least another week. Hellz yeah. Should have some local pics and video for you soon as well!